What to do if you lose it or if it gets damaged ?

Jan 10, 2020

You’re waiting at the luggage carousel for what appears to be forever. And you can’t seem to find your luggage anywhere within your sight. Or then again, your luggage does appear, however, looks like it was thrown away to a gutter? Who’s responsible for your harmed, lost, or delayed luggage?

Regardless of whether it is a business trip or a recreation trip; whether in domestic flights or international flights. When you land in the airport terminal looking for your luggage, it should be a quick process and without any inconvenience. When some problem occurs, we seem to be lost. Airlines don’t prepare us for these incidences.

Be that as it may, guaranteeing lost baggage remuneration isn’t as hard as it appears. In case you don’t believe it, there are a few ways to get it done. Here, we’ll explain those:

What if the luggage isn’t at the ‘luggage claim’?

It almost never happens, but when our luggage is not in the carousel after getting off the plane, chaos begins. Especially for what our luggage represents: valuables, important objects, or basic necessities. What to do if this happens to you?

The first thing you should do is stay calm and report it to the airport staff assigned to that task. You must act quickly as soon as you realize that your luggage is not there, otherwise, it will be harder for the airport staff to find it, or just to know what happened.

When you achieve the stuff’s recovery working area, directly disclose your circumstance to a delegate. Try not to rest until you’ve addressed somebody, take a pen, and report to the Property Irregularity Report (PIR) for your airline has lost luggage. Do ensure to note down the case number of your luggage.

The more specific your case, the better it is. Try not to leave anything blank on the case form particularly important info.

You probably won’t know this, but the aircraft is required to give you a couple of “fundamental things” while you wait for your luggage to either show up or be announced “lost”.

If in fact, someone stole it, or if it got lost along the way, you should also contact your airline. When they confirm that your report is true, they will send you home and have you fill out several forms where

 

1) indicate what happened, and, depending on the case.

 

2) informing absolutely everything you had in your suitcases, indicating the monetary value ($) of the objects you’ve lost.

 

What compensation to expect if the luggage is announced “lost”?

Ordinarily, in these circumstances, your luggage turns up on the following flight or in a couple of days.

In any case, if 30 days have passed, and still no luggage, it will formally be announced as “lost”. In such a case, take deep breaths. This is the place where the sorted list will come in handy. You can expect delayed baggage compensation from the airline if the airline delayed your baggage.

If the airline loses your bags, you must file a claim before you leave the airport. Be alert as to report the estimation of things precisely, carriers regularly pay special attention to overstated cases. Ask the baggage claim attendant for any further information about your lost luggage.

Without a doubt, the highest amount you can get back for lost luggage is $3,400 per individual, except if you bought protection for a higher value prior to your flight. The rate for checked luggage may differ on the international flight according to the Montreal Convention. Some credit card companies and air travel agencies also offer optional or automatic supplemental baggage coverage.

To avoid the cause of lost and delayed baggage, don’t go for late check-ins.

And what if the luggage wasn’t lost, but it was “damaged”?

It is important that when you collect your bags from the carousel, you should check them immediately. If you notice any sign that it was damaged, tampered with, or revised, you should report it immediately before leaving the airport.

What happens after this? The airline staff will want to inspect your luggage to verify that you are right, however, most airlines will not compensate you financially if the damage or clothing of your suitcase is not severe.

And what if the luggage is “delayed”?

This isn’t a bad scenario exactly, because the airlines tend to respond faster and better.

If your luggage is delayed, you don’t have much to worry about because in today’s world you can track them with apps from your device. If your bags are delayed and arrive on the later flight, wait a couple of hours, and if they’ve sent to the wrong airport, the same airline will send them to your door (without additional charges) in a period of two days.

The most important part of this process is:

  1. Report it before leaving the airport (ANY incident you have with your baggage or flight, report it, always, before leaving the airport).
  2. Save the receipt of your luggage. This will serve as proof that the luggage is yours, along with that code you can also track your luggage.

Losing luggage isn’t something that’s common but it’s not negative either. People do often lose their luggage every now and then. In this case, what’s best is to know how to respond to different situations.
Get a reference phone number, before lying to the airport, and file a claim and find out how to check on your bag’s arrival. Some airlines do have a website too, keep yourself updated through it.

In that manner, you won’t panic and would seek help in the right place. If you aren’t satisfied with your airline’s effort, file a claim with the department of transportation. But just be careful about things and on the account of inconveniences, hold yourself together for claiming the return of your belongings and luggage/s accordingly.

Pramod Ram

Pramod Ram

Digital Marketing Strategist

Pramod Ram heads the Online Marketing and Content Marketing Team at Claim Flights GmbH. He loves to travel, read books, watch movies and do intensive research.

If your flight delays for more than 3 hours, or was canceled, you may be eligible for compensation up to €600 based on EU 261 rule.

Check For Free

We offer "No Win - No Fee" Services, so claiming is Risk-Free!

Top 10 Most Beautiful Places In The World To Visit In 2024

Top 10 Most Beautiful Places In The World To Visit In 2024

When it comes to the world, the place is one of the most beautiful arenas. The most amazing places in the world allow you to set your foot in the world to enjoy the view of the world. In this blog, we have brought for you the top 10 most...

10 best flight-booking sites of 2023

10 best flight-booking sites of 2023

Thinking of which site you look to watch out for your cheap airfare in order to book the cheapest ticket? Well, you are not the only one. There are many portals with regards to picking the best flight-booking site nowadays in terms of...

Flight Delays Due To Technical Problem

When Technical Glitches Ground Your Plans: Flight Delays Explained Flight delays can be incredibly frustrating, especially when they disrupt carefully planned itineraries and cause inconvenience to travelers. While various reasons can...

We help in many languages – ClaimFlights International Websites